Mechanical, electrochemical, and durability behavior of graphene nano-platelet loaded epoxy-resin composite coatings

Even though commercially coating systems, such as epoxy resin, have been used as structural coatings, the challenges are the defeats or voids experienced in these coatings during curing stages that hinder their long-term barriers performance. Also, low damage tolerance often leads to premature coating degradation. In this study, the new high-performance composite coatings were developed by incorporating graphene nanoplatelets in the epoxy resin. a comprehensive characterization of the new graphene-loaded composite coatings, including electrochemical behavior, tensile strength, ultimate strain, abrasion properties, and long-term durability performance, was investigated. The results demonstrated that the graphene-loaded composite coatings exhibited a significant improvement in resistance to abrasion and corrosion inhibition property. Improvement of mechanical properties of the graphene-loaded coatings in terms of tensile strength, failure strain and abrasion resistance allowed high damage tolerance for more broader engineering applications. Moreover, long-term durability tests further confirmed the coating loaded with a small amount of a graphene nano-reinforcement, such as 1.0% of graphene by weight, could display the high corrosion resistance by 75% of remaining capacity after 500-h exposure, as compared to the neat epoxy with a low value of 40% or less.